The Ultimate Bet
by sayuri-girl
Summary: A newborn Eiri Uesugi was peacefully sleeping in his mother’s arms. She was holding him lovingly and couldn’t stop thinking how beautiful and perfect he was. But this beautiful and perfect boy enraged a very well known Lucifer and made God happy. ON HOLD.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or any of the characters. **

_**I. The Bet**_

A newborn Eiri Uesugi was peacefully sleeping in his mother's arms. She was holding him lovingly and couldn't think of how beautiful, how perfect he was. But she couldn't know that this beautiful and perfect boy has enraged a very well-known Lucifer and brought joy to a very well-known God. So as the boy was sleeping peacefully in his mother's arms, the two of them came to see him. Little they knew about the encounter with each other.

Both God and the Devil were startled because of the other's presence and couldn't believe this little creature made them both leave their kingdoms.

God wanted to give the boy his blessing, so he could have a wonderful life and eventually his soul to come and rest in his heavenly kingdom. Lucifer wanted to give his 'blessing' too. Only that he wanted the boy to have a miserable life and his soul to end up in Hell after he died. Both of them were speechless. What could they do? The boy was perfect, he was the most beautiful creature that God created, he was more beautiful than an angel, so God wanted him to have a long, peaceful, happy life and an eternity in Heaven along with the heavenly angels.

After a while, Lucifer came with an idea. "We'll let him choose. And I know he will choose a life that will send him straight to my kingdom. In fact, I bet this will be the situation." God remained silent for a while and when he spoke he only said: "So you bet he will choose a miserable life? I accept this bet. But tell me what does 'miserable' means from your point of view?"

"As beautiful and as perfect as he is, he will never find love in his lifetime on Earth and will not be able to love either. He will be a cold hearted person and will have no friends. He will have no one to cry at his tomb."

"You know that every person has a soul mate. He has one too, even if it is not born yet in this world. So I tell you this: if he will not be able to find his soul mate and the love that comes with it, then his soul is yours after he dies, but if he does find it and if he loves it, than his soul will come directly to Heaven, along with his soul mate's, without you claiming either one of them."

"It's a deal. If he falls in love with someone and is loved by that person, then they are both yours." With that being said, Lucifer vanished into thin air, leaving God by the boy's side. Looking at the boy he had an idea. He gently leaned and put his heavenly hand on the boy's forehead. He felt the touch and opened his eyes. And doing so he caught a glimpse of God vanishing into thin air. He moved a little and his mother looked at him worriedly. But what she saw awestruck her. Her little boy's eyes had a very strange color: they were amber colored. And they were beautiful.

"Just a little gift for you to help you with your quest in life." thought God as he was returning to his kingdom. "Those eyes should catch everyone's attention and with the blond hair your mother has, you will be perfect."

At the sight in front of her, the woman placed a gentle kiss on the boy's forehead and started singing. She had a wonderful voice and he always seemed to fall asleep when he heard it.

The first years of Eiri's life went by peacefully and God was pleased. Two years after Eiri's birth he had encountered another interesting person, in the form of a newborn Shuichi Shindou. God was there, just as he was in the case of Eiri Uesugi, only that this time the Devil no longer came, too wrapped up in his plans of making the young boy's life miserable. God was joyful, especially because he saw that little Shuichi and young Eiri were equally beautiful. So he developed a plan. He will bond the two boys for eternity. He will do his best that this newborn will be Eiri's soul mate, will be the one to save both their souls by loving him and making the blond one love him back. As God's plan was now set, he wanted to give little Shuichi his blessing. He leaned and touched the boy's forehead, only this time he chanted some old words, words that only he knew. Doing so, he bonded them both for eternity. Shuichi felt the light touch and opened his eyes only to see a vanishing into thin air God. As he moved, his mother's attention was shifted towards him. She saw the boy opening his eyes. It was the first time he would do it, so she was very happy. But the color of the boy's eyes startled her. They were amethyst colored and, along with the pink hair that was to grow as the time passed, were God's gifts for him.

**A.N.: So what do you think? hope you liked it. Chapter II will be updated as soon as I can. please read and review and let me know if you liked it or not. Thanks. **


	2. Chapter 2

_**A.N. : So this is chapter two. I am working on the third one as we are speaking right now so it should be uploaded in a day or two. **_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation, nor the characters._**

_**II. A tragic fate**_

God knew that the boy, who was now a handsome 12 year old blond, will find his soul mate and both their souls will make it to Heaven. What he didn't know was the plan Lucifer had. And boy, this was not good.

One day, while he was at school, his mother went to the grocery, but on the way back she encountered the Devil, in the person of a drunken driver. The car hit her at full speed and she died on the spot. Poor little Eiri, he was devastated when he found out, but he tried to hold on for his little brother Tatsuha.

Luckily, his sister's husband, Tohma came with the idea of taking them both to America for a year. But Mika said that Tatsuha was too little and she didn't accept it. She wasn't sure about letting Eiri go either, but her husband said that he will go with him and take good care of him. So it was settled, they were to leave for America.

He was a little happy with the change and when Eiri arrived in New York he didn't stop asking questions about the city and the schools and the place they were going to stay. His eyes opened wide so he couldn't miss any detail, he couldn't stop a little smile blossom on his face. But when Tohma said he will not go to a school but have a tutor instead, little Eiri's smile faded and he felt sadness starting to gather in the back of his eyes under the form of tears. Although he did the best he could do to hide them, the other man saw them and did everything to comfort him by assuring there will be lots of children in the place they will be staying, so he will have friends to play with.

The next day Tohma received a visit. Young Eiri was still sleeping, since it was 7 in the morning. It was the boy's future tutor. The older man wanted to be sure that this guy knew his job and also wanted to talk to him before actually introducing him to Eiri. After what seemed to be an endless conversation, he was convinced that the guy was a good person and also a good tutor, so he went and awoken the boy, telling him it was time for lessons.

When young Eiri entered the room his tutor and Tohma were in, he couldn't believe his eyes. His tutor, by his name Yuki Kitazawa, was young – he couldn't have been older than 20. He was speechless. He thought he will have an old, wrinkled and harsh tutor, but Yuki-sama seemed kind and friendly. And he was Japanese. Not that he didn't speak English. In fact, he was very smart and in Japan he was studying with an advanced class, and even so he was better than all of them.

At first he felt happy because he had a young tutor, but soon enough doubt started to make its way to his mind. How was this Yuki-sama supposed to teach him all he was supposed to study if he remained in Japan, when he was so young? Little Eiri didn't know that underneath the aspect of the handsome and friendly man laid a very intelligent person.

After talking a little with them, Tohma left the room and let them start their lessons.

Left alone, Yuki-sama asked young Eiri to show him his books. Now it was his time to remain speechless. This boy was studying subjects that normally only the high school students did. Geometry, algebra and arithmetic, discourse analyses, English as well as Japanese literature, chemistry and biology were some of them. The boy was a little genius, but the subjects were not difficult for Yuki.

Eiri didn't miss the expression his tutor had on his face when he saw his books and this didn't help get rid of the doubt that he may not be able to help him. He gave a little smirk and said:

"If you don't know them I will just tell Tohma you can't help me and he will find another tutor for me." Saying this he was already walking towards the door to call his brother-in-law, but Yuki stopped him.

"It is not that I don't know them, but I didn't expect you to study these subjects. I mean, Tohma told me you were a little advanced for the age of 12, but I never imagined you were this advanced, so of course I was awestruck. But I am glad actually, because this means you are very smart and we will be able to have a proper discussion on the themes in your literary books. This also means you are a fast learner and you will understand everything in your books."

Eiri couldn't believe his ears. Was he serious? He really wanted to be his tutor?

"So sensei," said Eiri in English, "what shall we start with? Shall we start with English literature?"

"You speak English too?"

"Of course I do. Will I be here if I wouldn't?"

"I suppose not. Well I don't think we should start with literature because you need to read the literary texts before we can discuss them."

"I already read them. In English, if I may add." said young Eiri in a tone that couldn't be misjudged as if him reading the text being the most obvious thing in the world.

"You don't stop amazing me. All right, if you already read them, then we can start with that." said Yuki opening the English literature textbook.

And so they started their lessons. While listening to Eiri giving his opinion upon Ofelia's death from Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Yuki was analyzing the boy in front of him. His beautiful golden eyes and his soft, blond hair matched perfectly. His features were beautiful. In one word, the boy was handsome, perfect and brilliant, the lethal combination. He had the brains of a 16 year old person at the age of 12. He knew it would not be easy tutoring him, but he never backed out in front of challenge.

Eiri was happy. Yuki-sama was the perfect tutor. He was smart, young and friendly. And he was handsome too. His eyes, the color of chocolate, matched his brown hair. His face said he was joyful. He always had a smile on his lips, lips that were full and had a wonderful shape.

Without even knowing it, Eiri started falling for his young tutor. He enjoyed more and more their lessons, especially since almost everyday they went in the park to study and didn't stay inside a room.

Yuki saw the change in the boy and knew in an instant that he was falling for him. This only made him happy. So that one day, after several months have passed, Yuki took him in the park, as usually, for their lesson. Only that this time they stayed longer than usual and he offered to give him a ride back home. Eiri accepted and got into the car, not knowing what Lucifer had in store for him. Because it was Lucifer's plan to ruin every chance of happiness the boy might have, he persuaded Kitazawa in betraying the love young Eiri felt for him.

Yuki didn't take him home, but instead he told him that he had a book for him at his place and that they will stop there first. Eiri trusted him, so he didn't say anything. When they were inside Kitazawa's apartment, Yuki pulled the little boy in his arms and for a second he just stared at those incredibly beautiful golden pools. They were widening with shock and fear now, which gave them a distinctive beauty. Several minutes later, he leaned in and locked their lips in a passionate kiss.

Young Eiri didn't know what to think or do, so he tried to pull back from his tutor's arms, but unluckily he was trapped between the wall and his sensei's body. He started crying and asking him to let him go, but it seemed that his tutor couldn't or wouldn't hear him.

When he heard someone knocking at the door, he thought he was saved. Little he knew how wrong he was. At the door were three drunken guys, that Kitazawa called to have 'fun' with the little, beautiful boy he held in his arms.

The men came towards Eiri, who couldn't believe that his sensei, the one he loved and trusted, would do this to him, and when he cried for help, Yuki only said:

"This is the price you have to pay for your beauty."

Just as he was trapped between the men and the wall, stunned by his tutor's words and indifference, he thought there will be no escape for him. He started crying and one of the men came closer and took the boy's head in his hand making him look into his eyes. And that was the moment when Eiri saw his salvation in the form of a pistol. He took it and aimed it in the direction of the man's head and without even knowing what he was doing, he pressed the trigger. The man dropped dead in an instant. Next he aimed the gun at Yuki's direction and shot. The other men just run away not wanting to be injured or killed. When he saw Yuki's body on the floor, he dropped the pistol and run towards him. He kneeled next to him and took his head into his hands, calling him by his name. But it was too late. He felt the pool of blood he had kneeled in, but it didn't matter. He just stayed there, rocking his body back and forth in an attempt to comfort himself while crying himself a river. His tears were now mixing with the blood, turning the crimson red into a paler shade.

When Tohma came in and saw the two bodies on the floor and young Eiri crying his heart out, he kneeled besides him and embraced him. He took the boy into his arms, picked him up from the pool of blood, which stained his clothes and hands, and left the apartment. When Eiri was able to tell him what happened, several hours later, he decided it was better they left New York as soon as possible.

Tohma was trying to settle things up for them to leave the next day when Eiri came to him and, between sobs, he managed to say:

"My hands are dirty. His blood will never wash away from them. The blood of the one I loved with all my heart." With that he fell on the floor and started crying again. His brother-in-law took him in his bed and tried to comfort him while the boy was little by little falling in a deep sleep.

Next day they were in the plane heading back to Japan. They have been talking and they agreed that they should never tell anyone what happened during their stay in New York. As a reason for them coming back only after a few months they agreed upon saying Eiri was homesick.

The boy agreed to do some therapy when back in Tokyo. And he was doing fine for several months, no nightmares anymore, no sudden panic attacks when somebody was looking at him on the street. So he recovered from the trauma, slowly, but he managed to come back. He studied more than usual and even started writing romance novels. Tohma couldn't believe that only two years had passed since the incident and the boy was doing that good. Only that he didn't know this was only a façade. Eiri was a lonely person, he didn't have friends because he didn't trust people and he often stayed inside his room writing. And by the age of 17 his first novel was published under the penname of Eiri Yuki. And it sold immediately. He was a successful novelist and this made him even lonelier. He never liked being recognized on the street. Never felt comfortable in a public place, not to mention in a public place packed with people. And the most important thing, he never wanted to love again, his heart was now shielded and he was cold with everyone that tried to get to know him.

**A.N. Thanks a lot for the review. I am glad you liked it. ****hope you enjoy this chapter as well. **

**Please read and review, even if you want to tell me you didn't like the story so far or you think I should work some more on the next chapters. every review is welcomed. Thanks.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A.N. So this is chapter three. Hope you like it. Enjoy! I am working at the 4th chapter now but I don't know if I will be able to update it soo. It might take a few days.**_

**_Disclaimer : I do not own Gravitation or the characters._**

_**III. **__**The Encounter**_

By the age of 21, Eiri was the most famous novelist in Japan. He also had books published in America, books that had record selling.

His 3rd year at university was about to start and he was not looking forward to it. He thought that he will go through university and after that he will be left in peace. After all, his editor was the one that made him go through university. She told him that if he won't, the publishing house will stop publishing his novels. But he hated it. All the girls were undressing him with their eyes, always bothering him with stupid little questions. He was in the center of their attention and he didn't want this.

This year he was to change his dorm mate. The one he had for the past 2 years had graduated during the summer and now he was faced with another problem. He was wondering which would be the reaction the next boy, who will be signed to his dorm, has. He hoped this new dorm mate of his won't know who he was; in fact he hoped that the boy never heard of him. But then again, he was very popular and well known so that was almost impossible.

Two days before university started and the spare room in his dorm was taken. And it was a freshman the principal has assigned to his dorm. Eiri was cold towards him. He introduced himself after the boy, Shuichi Shindou, told his name. The boy didn't seem to ever hear his name. After all, maybe there still was someone on Earth who didn't know who Eiri Yuki was. He was pleased and happy to find out this. That meant that he would have a quiet year. Little he knew how wrong he was.

After a second glance he saw the boy's hair and eyes. He couldn't believe this. Shuichi had big violet eyes and bright pink hair.

"So why did you dye your hair pink and put violet contacts? Are you gay or something?" Eiri asked the boy.

"What? These are my natural colors. I was born like this. My pink hair and my violet eyes are with me since the day I was born. And I am not gay!" shouted Shuichi. He couldn't believe this Eiri Yuki. Who was he anyway?

"Oi, brat. You don't have to shout. It was just a question. Your look is so odd."

"I know I shouldn't shout at you. It's just that everyone thinks the same way as you because of the color my hair has."

"So why don't you dye it?"

"No way. I like it. It is different. It makes me different. As if I am an important piece in God's plan." Shuichi added. Truth to be told he always felt this way. His mother told him, when he asked her about his hair and eyes, that it was God's will. He was to be distinguished from everyone. She never knew how right she was and neither did Shuichi.

Eiri didn't say anything. He just looked at the boy in front of him from top to bottom and from bottom to top. The boy was slender, his body frame was quite little, fragile and had a very thin waist. His skin had a natural tan shade. It looked so smooth and delicate, that it almost made the cold novelist to stretch and touch it. His face was little, childish even, but that suited him perfectly. His features were beautiful and those big, bright violet eyes were full of energy and joy. His pink hair framed his face in a very nice way. All together, the boy was cute, but he wasn't going to tell him that. Besides, the famous cold hearted Eiri Yuki was not going to admit to anyone they were cute, and especially another _male_. For God's sake, he wasn't gay.

"Hey, brat."

"I'm not a brat. I have a name: Shuichi Shindou."

"I don't care. You are a brat. Listen carefully. I need my silence while in the dorm because I am working. So if you want to watch TV, make sure you keep the volume down. And another thing. No girls in here. So if you have a little girlfriend, don't bring her here!"

"Are you done with the instructions? It's not like I will be having any girlfriends. I'm not interested in any relationships." Shuichi muttered, chin in his chest, afraid that the elder one will notice the blush on his cheeks.

"Whatever. Glad to see you are listening."

With that, each boy went to his room. Little they knew that something big was to happen, something that will change both of their lives.

In his room, Shuichi couldn't stop thinking about Eiri. His golden eyes were hypnotizing. His blond hair was reminding him of a bright, sunny day. His body frame was very well emphasized by his elegant black trousers and white button-down shirt, which had the top buttons undone, showing his well fit chest. His black, leathered shoes matched perfectly with his entire outfit. He found the other boy very handsome. _'But wait. I'm not gay. Why am I thinking of this? I have to stop it in this instant.'_

Little he knew that back in his room, Eiri was having problems with concentrating on his work too because he couldn't stop thinking of Shuichi. _'Damn brat! Why did he have to be my dorm mate? And why did he have to be so damn cute? I can't stop thinking of that little body frame of his, at those big, bright violet eyes, at his pink hair … Damn it, Eiri Yuki! Stop this and concentrate!'_

Eiri was majoring in literature, English and journalism. These were the subjects he liked the most and represented him. Literature because he was a writer, English because that was the language he and his dead tutor have used so many years ago and journalism because he didn't think it was a bad idea, and who knew, maybe he would need it at some point.

As he was sitting in a chair in the class, he was thinking at the novel he was working at. He needed some quiet moments for him to clear his thoughts and he was planning a day off, away from the university's grounds. Lost in his thoughts and plans, he barely noticed that the class was now full, only one chair left empty, the one next to him. As he came back to reality, he saw one annoying brat standing in front of him and asking him if he can take the seat since it was the only one unoccupied. Eiri blinked a couple of times and nodded. _'After all, he isn't supposed to stand through the entire lecture, is he?'_ thought Eiri. The entire class was staring at them in disbelief. The famous Eiri Yuki allowed a freshman to sit next to him. That was a first.

They were now at the literature lecture. On one hand, Eiri couldn't believe that this boy chose this subject. It seemed as if he wasn't able to understand anything. On the other hand, he had to admit he was glad for the boy's presence because every time he didn't understand something he pouted in a very cute way. Literature was going to be more interesting this year.

"OK, class! Settle down." said the teacher after one of Shuichi's questions. They were talking about one of Eiri's books and the boy couldn't believe it was the Eiri Yuki sitting next to him they were talking about. The entire class started laughing at his stunned face. They continued talking until the break. Two minutes before the class was over, the teacher told them:

"Before you leave, I want to tell you something. For some of you this is not new, but I think that the freshmen don't know about this. It is not allowed in this lecture to change your seats. So remember were you were seated today, because that will be your spot for the entire year. Good bye, class." With this being said, the teacher left the room. Shuichi couldn't believe his ears. He was to be seated next to him for the entire year? He felt sick at the very instant. He sighed and thought that at least the next lecture will be nicer. It was English and his best friend Hiro was having it too, so he would be able to talk to him and have a nice time. He thought that maybe the cold hearted blond wasn't having this class, but he wasn't that lucky.

Seeing the boy entering the class room for the English lecture made Eiri gaze at him in his characteristic way. This sent chills down the poor boy's spine. Not only he was a freshman, but it seemed he had managed to infuriate the most popular boy in the university. _'Great! This could only happen to me!'_ Shuichi sighed.

The English teacher paired them, saying that this was the best way for them to learn faster. Shuichi ended up being Eiri's partner. He knew he was the worst student in this class and he also knew he needed help to pass the subject, and although he was paired with the best student in the entire university, he was a little sad since he hoped he'd be paired with Hiro. Looking in his direction, Shuichi saw he was paired with a girl. She was pretty and he instantly knew Hiro liked her.

Shuichi was finally able to talk with Hiro during lunch break. They were quite happy, because the next class was music, the only subject they entered the university for. As they were joyfully chatting, a one fuming, blond haired Eiri Yuki came to their table and asked:

"Oi, brat! Are you a stalker or something?"

"Excuse you? What did I do now?"

"How come you are in all my classes?"

"I am not. The third one for me is music. And I bet you don't do music, do you?"

"No, I don't. For me it's journalism."

"Glad we settled that out. And the reason I have the other two classes is very simple. I chose literature because it might help me with the lyrics and English because I have to know it if I want to be an international pop star." said Shuichi, his face red because of the embarrassment. After all, the entire cafeteria was watching them and listening. Eiri didn't say anything, just left for a table to eat in peace. This was not his day, obviously. _'Thank God he didn't choose journalism, or else I might have committed murder.'_

_**A.N. So how did you like it? Please review. **_

**_Thank you very much for your reviews. I am very happy that you enjoyed it ;)_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**A.N. : Here you have it. Chapter 4. Enjoy.**_

**_Disclaimer : I do not own Gravitation or the characters._**

_**IV. Hopes**_

Shuichi was in his room now, on his bed, curled up like a ball and crying. He had been mocked and laughed at the entire day because of his eyes and hair. The incidents that occurred during his literature lecture and in the cafeteria also saddened him. He was silently crying, not knowing that the sun was setting down, making way for the night. The only source of light in the room was a lightened candle, which was placed in front of the window.

Little by little, the boy's tears dried off and he stood up on his bed, looking at the candle. He remembered that day as if it was yesterday.

_(Flashback)_

_He was 5 years old. He was sitting in his mother's room in the hospital, trying to keep the tears from falling. Earlier he had overheard the doctors telling his father she may not survive the night. She had leukemia. But she refused the treatment. She preferred taking care of her children, Shuichi and Maiko, to having a treatment. _

_Seeing him on the verge of tears she raised a hand in an attempt of brushing his pink locks and comforting him. She told him:_

"_Don't cry my little angel. Human beings are only passers-by in this world and God calls us to him in the end. Some of us leave earlier that the others. But you know that I will always be with you, in your dreams and memories. If you lighten a candle and put it next to your window I will find my way back to you." After saying this, she started singing for the little boy:_

'_Hush little boy, don't say a thing,_

_Mama's gonna buy you an amethyst ring …'_

_But before she could sing some more, with a last look at her dearly boy, she gave her last breath. She died looking into his big, violet eyes, with her hand on his head, her fingers entangled in his pink locks. That was how his father found them a few moments later. _

_Shuichi never forgot what his mother told him and always had a candle lightened for her by the window of his room._

_(End of flashback)_

Shuichi climbed down the bed in an attempt of going in the living room to watch TV. He couldn't sleep in the mood he was and didn't want to be alone either. He made it to the door and opened it, but he felt so dizzy he couldn't move anymore. Instead, he collapsed with a loud thud.

Eiri heard it from his room and stood up with a growl. He opened the door to see what happened. The instant he saw the boy lying on the floor he went to him, picked him up and took him in his room. He noticed the candle, but didn't have time to wonder about it. At a second inspection he saw that the boy had been crying. He laid him on the bed and covered him with a blanket. He gave him one last look to make sure he was alright. The boy was even cuter while sleeping. He looked so peaceful, dreaming probably of something cheerful. With that last thought he exited the room, but instead of closing the door, he let it opened. He did the same thing with his.

'_Just in case that baka tries walking again and ends up on the floor.'_ he thought.

Next morning Eiri was in the kitchen, preparing the breakfast, when Shuichi came out of the room. He couldn't remember what happened last night.

"Oi, baka! What's the story with the candle?"

"That's none of your business." replied Shuichi.

"I thought that you had some good manners and at least you would thank me for fishing you from the floor and tucking you in." Eiri said matter-of-factly.

"What? You did what?"

"You were lying out cold on the floor so I did you a favor and put you in your bed. But don't expect that again from me."

"Thanks." Shuichi said, his face red because of the embarrassment. "The candle is for my mom." he spat out not knowing what got into him saying such personal things to this cold hearted boy.

He was now on the verge of crying. Eiri saw it and not knowing what to do, he just said:

"You'd better hurry up and eat, or you'll be late in the literature class. And you **don't** want to be late."

The boy snapped out of his troubled thoughts and saw the plate in front of him. He couldn't believe it. _'Did he just cook breakfast for me? Can this be possible? Can it be possible that I was wrong when I thought he is a cold hearted bastard? He did help me last night and he did cook breakfast for me, so I should at least thank him.'_

"Thank you. But what made you cook for me?"

"I thought you will need it after collapsing last night. But don't get me wrong. It's just that I don't want you to disturb me again. Plus that I don't want to take care of you every time you decide it's time to cry your heart out. Don't get the wrong idea, because this is the first and last time I am doing this."

Shuichi started eating and after a while he was joyful again. Eiri couldn't believe how moody Shuichi was. His mood jumped from sadness to joy in an instant. After finishing his breakfast, Shuichi thanked him again and went in his room to change for the class. He slowly started singing:

_Big raindrops are falling from the sky_

_And wash away all our troubles_

_So we can smile when the sun shines again._

_But it is also raining inside me_

_Trying to wash my troubled soul_

_And every tear I shed gathers in a river_

_That carries me into the world._

Eiri was awestruck. He couldn't believe this brat had the voice of an angel. He wished he would never stop singing. Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice a Tohma Seguchi staying next to him, also stunned by the beautiful voice Shuichi had and gazing at the door in an attempt of melting it.

Tohma was now the president of NG – Records, the most successful label in the entire Japan. He had been in the band Nittle Grasper until three years ago, when they broke up because their lead singer wanted to go solo. Since then, his company became the best in the country and was among the best producing labels in the world. Tohma couldn't believe he might have discovered the next big star since Ryuichi Sakuma rooming with his brother-in-law. Then again, strange things happened in his presence.

When the door finally opened, both men regained their composures. Eiri had his typical indifference look on his face and Tohma had his so characteristic smile plastered on his lips. He continued smiling while analyzing the young boy that stood in the frame door, stunned at the view in front of him. The boy resembled so much with the much older Ryuichi, that the former keyboardist of Nittle Grasper couldn't believe. Except of his eyes and hair he looked just like him. Only that this boy was younger, had a smaller body frame and his hair was pink and eyes violet.

"Good morning. You must be Eiri's new dorm mate, am I right?"

Shuichi was still in the doorframe looking at the famous man in front of him and being in the impossibility of speaking. He was too stunned to say anything. When he heard the man addressing him he snapped out of his dreams and tried responding.

"Yes." he said in a little voice. "I am Shuichi Shindou."

"Nice to meet you Shindou-san. I am Tohma Seguchi, Eiri's brother-in-law."

"I know who you are. But I didn't know you were brothers-in-law."

"Didn't Eiri tell you?" with this he turned towards Eiri. "Eiri how come you never told me about Shindou-san's talented voice? You know that I work in this business and I am always looking for talents."

"I didn't know the brat can sing. I mean he did say his majoring in music but I never thought he was a singer." muttered Eiri.

"Well, now that I know, I would like to ask you Shindou-san if you want to become a pop star. Of course we will have to find you a band, but that can be easily done."

"I would love to. But you know … I and my friend Hiroshi Nakano have a band called Bad Luck. He is the guitarist and I am the singer. And if it is that I go big in the music industry I want it only with my friend by my side. He is very good with his guitar and if you want we can perform at an audition."

"Sure. What do you say about today after your lectures? I will be here. One more question. Did you write the lyrics you were singing?"

"Yes. But that was something that I came up with on the spot. I have some other songs that are better and they are finished."

"I think this one was good too. Show it to your friend and play it today, will you?"

"As you wish. We will, Seguchi-san. Thank you."

This being said both boys left for their classes. Shuichi was restless during the entire literature lecture and Eiri couldn't stop a small smile blossom on his lips. This would have been the first smile since the Kitazawa incident. When the lecture finally ended Shuichi stormed towards the next class to hit the news to his best friend. Eiri saw them talking and saw the expression the read-headed had when he was introduced the fact that they were going to play in front of Tohma Seguchi. They were both thrilled.

The day faded little by little and the meeting hour was approaching. Shuichi was now bouncing with anxiety, fearing that they might blow their chance. Hiro was confident though and was trying to comfort the boy saying they will do just fine. When they met with Tohma a little later and after the introductions were made, Shuichi was starting to feel better. He was now joyful and confident at the thought they will be great. Before performing he always changed in a way no one could guess. he wasn't the childish Shuichi anymore. He was more of a god now. So he started singing, with Hiro accompanying him at the guitar. He sang the same song only that now he had finished it.

_Big raindrops are falling from the sky_

_And wash away all our troubles_

_So we can smile when the sun shines again._

_But it is also raining inside me_

_Trying to wash my troubled soul_

_And every tear I shed gathers in a river_

_That carries me into the world._

_Alone I travel and look for you_

_But it seems that you, my soul mate_

_Are far far away._

_In my search I only have my faith _

_And a compass to show me the way._

_Even if I don't seem to find you_

_I will never abandon my quest_

_Because, my love, I have faith. _

_Alone I travel and look for you_

_But it seems that you, my soul mate_

_Are far far away._

_So I start singing for you_

_With the hope you will hear me_

_And the love I feel for you_

_Will bring you closer. _

_In my search I only have my faith _

_And a compass to show me the way._

_Even if I don't seem to find you_

_I will never abandon my quest_

_Because, my love, I have faith. _

Shuichi finished singing with a very low note that seemed to send chills down Eiri's and Tohma's backs. They were both stunned. The lyrics were good and the guitar accompanied perfectly the boy's voice. Tohma was satisfied. He had found a great band. But they had a deficiency. They needed another instrument. It wasn't enough the guitar. So he had a brilliant idea.

"I am more than pleased with both of you, but you have a deficiency. I know what the minus of your band is and I can turn it into a plus if you sign with my label. But that means you will have another band mate. Are you willing to accept another player in your band and sign with NG?"

Shuichi didn't know what to answer. He and Hiro were best friends and they started this band some years ago. He didn't want anybody else in the band. But if he refused now, they might never have a chance like this. He asked Hiro what he thought. And he said that they should give it a try. He wanted them to sign with NG. After all, it was the best label in the country.

"We have a deal. We will give it a try. So who is it that you think we need?"

"A keyboardist. And I have the perfect man for you. Suguru Fujisaki, my cousin, 18 years old, and whom I have taught everything I know would be perfect for your band." Tohma added mater-of-factly. "He is now in his last year of high school. But I can manage for him to come and study here if you decide to sign. You will need to be together and work hard. I will not allow one of my bands to end up failing. This is not an option for you, you understand?"

"Hai!" both of them said.

**_A.N. : Please tell me what you think of this. Read and review. _**

**_If you wonder where are the lyrics from, they are mine. The song is called 'Rain'._**


	5. Chapter 5

_**A.N.: This is chapter 5. I am not particularly pleased with it, so please don't 'kill' me. I just had an author's block and didn't know which way to go with this fic - should I stick with the anime as much as I can or should I just go with my imagination? These were my thoughts and I know that the chapter is not very good because of this.**_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or the characters._**

_**V. **__**Changes occur**_

The following days were a blur for the two boys. Tohma sent a limousine to drive them all the way back to Tokyo so they can sign the contract and meet the rest of the team. They finally got their chance to meet Suguru Fujisaki. As a first impression, he was way too serious for Shuichi, but his music was awesome. He really played very well. After that, they met their producer, Sakano-san, a hurricane of emotions, and their manager, Claude Winchester, better known as K. he was scary, a mad man allowed to carry a gun. And he looked so blood-thirsted when he aimed it towards each one of the three boys, saying that he only expects them to behave and work twice as hard as Ryuichi did. Shuichi didn't believe his ears. So he asked him:

"Ryuichi Sakuma?"

"Yes. I was his manager back in the States. I am American, as you might've noticed" he said pointing the shiny magnum in Shuichi's direction.

"Of course we noticed. I mean, that was obvious." he managed to mumble between gasps. He was now panicking and on the verge of hyperventilating because of the gun.

"Good. Well, as I said, I was Ryuichi's manager and I know I did a good job for him, didn't I?" he asked the boy again, pointing the gun at his head.

"Y-yes. Ryuichi Sakuma-san did very well in the States." Shuichi was now shaking in fright. He couldn't stop thinking that any moment now, this crazy American will blow his head off.

"Ok, now. Let's get down to business. All of you, get in the sound-booth and let's see what you can do. Do you have a song to work on?" K ordered them.

"Yes, we have two songs that I wrote. One of them is the one that Seguchi-san listened yesterday, and it is called "Rain" and the other one is new and it is called "Rage Beat".

"That is good. Go work on them and I want to see progresses in the next hours." K told them.

The three boys entered the booth and Shuichi showed Suguru the notes for the songs. While everyone was preparing for the actual rehearsal and recording they saw Tohma and Eiri entering the room. They stayed through the entire recording session. A few hours later, when they stopped playing because it was getting late, Eiri told them he was driving, so Tohma didn't need to send the limousine anymore. His brother-in-law agreed and told all of them that Suguru was going with them and he will be Hiro's dorm mate. _'It seems Seguchi-san really has the power of doing what he pleases.'_ Hiro thought. They nodded and said good bye, but before leaving K stopped them to say:

"You will be picked up tomorrow after you finish your music class by the same driver as today. He will take you to a location that NG Productions has near you university, so you will not loose that much time on the road."

"Hai!"

On their way back to the campus, Shuichi was sitting in the passenger sit as he wasn't tired after the session and he could talk with Eiri and keep him from dozing off to the dream land.

After chatting for a while about the latest events, Eiri asked the boy:

"So why did you tell the candle was for your mother?"

Shuichi remained silent for some moments, but finally managed to say:

"She had leukemia. She died in front of me, singing to me in an attempt of comforting me. But before she died she told me that if I did lighten a candle and put it to my window she would find her way back to me. In a way it is true. Whenever I feel sad I remember her and I start singing. This always helps me to calm down."

"And why were you crying the night I found you on the floor?"

"Because everybody in the university has mocked and laughed at me because of my hair and eyes' color. And because of the incidents that occurred during the literature class and in the cafeteria. Besides, that was the day my mom died 12 years ago, so normally I remembered all she told me and I felt very sad. In fact I was so sad that not even singing could help."

"You know, speaking about lectures, you really need help with the literature and English ones or else you will not be able to pass them. And with the singing career now you might never have time to study enough."

"I know. I never thought it would be that hard. I was only thinking that literature might help me with my lyrics, but never thought I would be in this situation. I don't know what else I could do besides studying with Hiro, hoping it will be enough. As for English … I have no idea what to do. And if I don't pass it, I would make you problems as well, since the teacher paired us."

"My point exactly. So let's make a deal. I help you with your literature and English if you just stop hurting yourself. Don't get any wrong idea. It is just that I don't want to take care of you every time you decide crying again."

"OK. Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me." Shuichi said in a whisper. _'He might not be a cold hearted man after all. He offered to help me.'_ "But when will we have time to discuss this?"

"I was thinking about doing it during the lunch break. We can meet under the cherry in the campus's park every day during the lunch break. We will have enough time. But you have to be serious about this. I don't want to loose my time if you don't want to pass your subjects. You know that I have better things to do than teach insolent brats literature and English. So if you're not going to be serious, tell me now."

"I will do everything you say and I will be serious." Shuichi pouted. He really was grateful for his help.

'_The kid is so cute when he makes such faces. It will be fun to see him pout like that every time he doesn't understand something. And I think that will be quite frequently.'_ Eiri thought.

"So how come you are at the university if you are such a good novelist? I thought you would do everything you wanted when famous."

"My editor said that I have to. She said the publishing house would stop publishing my books if I don't graduate a university. So I kind of had to. But I don't like it. They give me too much attention and I can't even move without them eyeing me. And the girls are the worst. They just bother me with the silliest questions they have. 'When will you publish your next novel?', 'Will you sign my book?', 'Will you date me?' are only a few of their questions."

"So how come you don't like being in the middle of their attention? And how come you don't like girls? Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"I don't have any girlfriends. They are too immature and I can't seem to find someone to just like me for myself and not for the fame that comes with my name, or for the looks."

"I would've taken you as a heartbreaker. With your brains and looks … that is one lethal combination." _'Trust me, I barely resist the urge of staring at you. When I see those eyes of yours, although they are always cold and expressionless, I just wish I could loose myself in them.'_ Shuichi added in his mind. He really found the elder man interesting under the mask no one seemed to be able to pass by.

"I don't know and don't care. I wish everyone just left me alone. Hey, brat!"

"Yes?" Shuichi was now used to being called a brat by Eiri, so he didn't try to correct the man anymore.

"Your lyrics from today … they really are crap." Eiri said

"What?" pouted Shuichi. "Listen Yuki-sensei, you really are a mean person. How can you say that?"

"Eiri."

"What?"

"Don't you ever call me that again. Just call me Eiri, like Tohma does. And that is my opinion. And you can only change it if you show me you can do better."

"Fine. I will demonstrate you I can write good lyrics." Shuichi was now blushing. Eiri was such a moody person. He thought he could have a nice conversation on their way back to the university but this was not the kind of conversation he was expecting. _'And why did Eiri have to be so mean with me?'_

When they were finally back in the campus, Shuichi was starting to feel the exhaustion of an entire day of working. Even when he had only classes he was tired enough not to be able to move, but today he had been singing for some hours and the usually so energetic boy was now trying not to fall asleep. He was dragging his feet while fighting with the need for sleep. Eiri saw the boy merely walked and he found it even cuter. He couldn't stop wondering how his pink, soft lips would feel like if he kissed him. So he thought this was as better a chance as he would ever have.

When they arrived at their dorm, Eiri unlocked the door and let the young boy enter first. While he was passing him, Eiri just grabbed his arm, pushed him against the wall and leaned in for the kiss. Shuichi was startled. At first he didn't know what was happening. He didn't expect this from the blond. Eiri was kissing him? That was very creepy. But the instant their lips locked and he felt those harsh lips against his, he couldn't stop himself from kissing back. That surprised Eiri as much as it surprised Shuichi. Parting away after a passionate kiss because of the lack of air, Eiri looked the boy in his face. Shuichi couldn't look him in his eyes because he didn't want the other one read the lust in his eyes. His face was red as the flames because of the ardent moment they shared.

Eiri leaned again, only this time he placed his face next to the boy's ear and whispered:

"You are even cuter when you are blushing." With that he turned his back to the boy and went into his room.

Shuichi just stood there like he had been pinned to the wall, not able to move, afraid that his legs would fail him and he would collapse dead cold on the floor. He waited a long time like this, not being able to move, and not long after the blonde went to his room, he heard typing from behind his door. _'So he thinks that he just kisses me and leaves? He will not get away with this. He can't just leave me here like this. He'll pay for this.'_ And with these thoughts, Shuichi stormed in the blonde's room.

**_A.N. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks._**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A.N. Hy everyone. I am back with another chapter. Hope you will enjoy reding this as much as I enjoyed writing it. ;) **_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or the characters._**

_**VI. **__**A bond**_

**Eiri's P.O.V.**

When Shuichi burst in the room he needed no words. His face said everything it was to be said. His eyes were filled with lust; his body was shaking and begging me to touch him, to take him, to make him mine. I knew from the start it would not be a good idea to kiss him and then leave, but I never thought he would react like this.

I slowly walk towards him, place my hands around his slender waist and lock our lips in another passionate kiss. He responds even better than the first time. He brings his hands up on my neck and starts playing with the hair at the bottom of my head. He doesn't know, but the brat just found out one of my weak spots. If he continues playing like this I might just loose my head. I take this as an encouragement and deepen our kiss. I slowly touch his lower lip with my tongue and he parts them to let me in. I start tasting the whereabouts of his mouth and what I discover amazes me. He tastes so sweet, like strawberries. He meets my tongue in a twisting game and while we kiss I pull him closer to my chest.

I break the kiss for need of air and turn my gaze upon his face. He is madly blushing, but his eyes tell me he wants me. I move one of my hands up his back and I feel his little body responding to it. He trembles under my touch. My fingers are on a quest of finding bare skin and I hungrily remove the black T-shirt he wears. As my fingers make contact with his skin a moan escapes Shuichi's throat. The brat's skin begs to be touched, kissed, bitten and marked. So I gently push him on the bed, my novel long forgotten by now, and climb on top of him. He shivers in pleasure as our groins touch and as I move to unbuttoning his pants I can feel his little hands undoing my shirt for me.

I feel his craving fingers running on the bare skin of my chest and I can't control myself anymore. As I remove the remaining of his clothes, I feel his hands traveling down my chest, fingers looking for the zipper of my pants. He manages to unzip and remove them.

I stop for a second to look at him. His pink locks are now ravished, his bright violet orbs are unfocused with pleasure, lust and hunger, his entire body responds to me touching and kissing him. I lean and start kissing his trembling lips and descend to his chin, neck and then his torso. I kiss my way down his belly, but I stop midway to it and have an idea. I start kissing him up to his neck and I look for the perfect spot. There, just at the crook of his neck, I bite him and hiss him hard enough to leave a mark. Shuichi moans in pleasure and his hands and lips look for my pale skin.

I know from the look in his eyes he can't take it anymore. So I lean once more and kiss him while I take him. He moans into the kiss and returns his hands at the back of my neck, playing with my hair.

After some playful hours, we are both lying on my bed, sheets ravished all over around us. Shuichi sleeps in my arms. He has a content expression. I move a little to make myself more comfortable and put my arms around the boy. He feels it and immediately curls up to my chest. He seems so peaceful while sleeping. I look at him one more time before dozing into dream world. He looks happy.

**Normal P.O.V.**

As the boys were peacefully sleeping in Eiri's room, one infuriated Lucifer decided to pay them a visit. He had some nasty thoughts about what to do to Shuichi and Eiri so they can't be happy. He was thinking that this boy might be the blonde's soul mate and he couldn't let that happen. He would make sure the elder man never found a soul mate. After all, he did take care of the other one, didn't he? He could play with this boy's mind and feelings too. Never was he allowed to play with Eiri's thoughts and feelings, because of the bet, but no one said he can't play around with everyone that came in touch with the novelist. With a wide smirk on his hideous face, Lucifer appeared in the peaceful room.

Looking at their faces he knew he had to do something as soon as possible or he would lose the bet. They already seemed to be too close. So he tried entering Shuichi's dreams and play with his conscience and thoughts. Never had he expected the boy to stand him and reject his traitorous plans. To say Lucifer was enraged would be an understatement. The boy was tougher than he looked. He didn'tknow how the boy could manage resisting the mighty Lucifer.

At this point he heard a voice from his back.

"It is kind of hard to control him, isn't it? Comparing him with the other one you played with, he actually resists you, doesn't he?"

"You … What did you do? And when did you come?"

"I didn't do anything. I only bonded the two boys when Shuichi was born. I think you were too wrapped up in your mischievous plans of ruining Eiri's life that you didn't notice it." God replied to the now fuming Devil. "And I have been standing here long before you came. You were too deep in your thoughts to even notice me."

Lucifer was now pondering what God said. _'He bonded the two boys? That couldn't be possible. There is no incantation to create that kind of binding. I would've known if it existed.'_

"What do you mean you bonded them together? That is beyond any of our powers." Lucifer asked.

"No, it is not. You forget that I am the Creator of this world and everything that populates it. You are one of my creations too. And as my creation, you don't know what I can or can't do. And this bond will last for the eternity, even if you win the bet, their souls will always find each other and love each other. You were right, this is beyond you powers, but not beyond mine."

"I don't care what you did. I will not allow such an insignificant thing, like this bond, to ruin my plans and loose the bet. I will have his soul and if you were right about this binding, then the other one's soul would be mine too."

Too deep in their conversation they didn't notice that Shuichi was waking up little by little. He thought he heard voices, but he wasn't sure it was reality or just another dream of his. So he slowly moved his head in the direction of the voices and opened his amethyst eyes. At first, he didn't see anything because of the darkness in the room, but as soon as the cloud that was covering the moon moved and let the moonlight enter the room, he saw them.

What he saw made him shiver. There were two forms, standing in the room next to their bed talking about a bet. One of the forms was hideous. It had big, black wings, his face was deformed, his big red eyes were filled with malice and his lips were tightened in a smirk. The other form, on the contrary, was beautiful. It had long white hair, kind face and eyes filled with what seemed to be the love a father has for his children. He didn't have wings, but there was a white aura surrounding him. They were levitating a few centimeters above the floor. A confused "ohhhh" escaped his mouth. The two forms turned their faces towards the bed to see an awaken and stunned Shuichi staring at them in disbelief.

**_A.N. REVIEW please. _**

**_Thank you for your reviews. I really appreciate the coments and please tell me if you think I should work more on some aspects of my story or if there are any misspellings or things like this. Thanks._**


	7. Chapter 7

_**A.N. Sorry for taking me so long writing this but I had a very tough week. I had some exams and some changes in school. Anyway, this is chapter 7. hope you will enjoy.**_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or the characters._**

_**VII**__**. Difficulties**_

By the moment realization he could see and hear them hit the two forms, Shuichi was already climbing down the bed. He didn't know what made him do that. He knew he should've feel frightened by the two **levitating** forms in front of him, but something in the eyes of the beautiful one made the young boy feel safe.

Before he could climb down the bed, Shuichi saw the hideous one turning its face towards him, so he asked them in a low voice:

"Who are you?"

They didn't answer, only stared at him in awe. The silver haired one seemed to regain its composure though, in a way that reminded Shuichi of Eiri, and tried to say something, but was cut off by the harsh, cruel voice of the others:

"I'm the one who'll make your life miserable, you little twerp." it said, its eyes throwing daggers in his direction. With that, he vanished into thin air.

Seeing this, the young male got back under the covers and curled up to Eiri's chest in fright. As it saw him overwhelmed by fright, the other form said in a kind and gentle voice:

"You are standing at the cross-road of your life. There are two roads in front of you, but as you already know, you can take only one. One of them leads you to a peaceful but at the same time sad life, the other to a tough but happy life. You can either turn your back on Eiri and disappear from his life, or you stay by his side and love him, even if that means to endure the fires of Hell. It is your decision."

Shuichi was speechless. After some minutes of thinking, he answered in a low but decisive voice:

"It is quite obvious which way I choose to take, don't you think?"

At this remark, God was surprised. He didn't expect the boy to make up his mind that fast, not unless he would choose to leave. The thought made him flinch for a second. He really didn't want them suffer Hell's roughs for the eternity and he was thinking at a way of breaking the bond between them.

"Would I be in his bed right now if I didn't love him? If this means I have to …" his voice trailed of at this point, not being able to talk anymore because of the tears that were gathering in the back of his orbs.

"You realize what this means?" said God with a little sigh. "Lucifer has its own ways in achieving its goals. Would you stay by Eiri's side even if he tries to back out and turns his back on you?"

"Of course. I love him. I want him to be happy and I will always stay with him."

A few moments later, he realized something.

"Wait, did you say 'Lucifer', as in the 'Devil'?"

"Yes, I did. That was him."

"You mean he really exists?" Shuichi blurted out. "And who are you? If that was the Devil, does that mean you are –?

"God."

At this, his eyes widened in shock and the tears that were threatening to loose free finally started falling. His bright violet eyes were now closed as he was sobbing and trying not to awaken Eiri. But it was too late. As the boy continued crying his heart out, Eiri heard him and little by little he was coming around, not knowing what happened in the room.

God saw the boy waking up so he approached Shuichi, touched his forehead and said only this:

"You will not remember this conversation in the morning for it would only be a dream."

With that he vanished into thin air just before Eiri woke up. As he opened his eyes he saw Shuichi crying.

"What happened? Did you have a nightmare?"

"Yes." Shuichi managed to say between sobs. Yuki enveloped him with his arms to comfort the boy. He didn't know why he was doing all this, after all the brat didn't mean anything to him. _'I have to admit he is a good fuck, but that is all. Why am I acting so tenderly towards him? I never acted like this to any other woman I have slept with. It can't be that I am starting to fall for him, can it? If that is the reason, I have to push him out of my bed and my life.'_ He was bounded to keep his promise but when he saw the boy in his arms slowly dozing off into dream land he just couldn't do it. _'Tomorrow. I will do it tomorrow. He did have a terrible nightmare after all. I don't want him to just cry the entire night if I show him the door now. I will have to pick him up from the floor again.'_ Eiri gave a little sigh and decided that in the morning he was definitely going to talk to the little brat and settle things out.

Shuichi was now fast asleep in Eiri's arms and he was dreaming of the events that occurred during the night. As he was dreaming about the moments he and Eiri shared, a little whisper escaped his lips:

"Eiri."

Hearing his name, he looked at the boy and saw a little smile blossoming on his lips. He knew in that instant the boy was head over heals about him. Knowing Shuichi surrendered himself body and soul to him made his heart miss a beat.

**Shuichi's P.O.V.**

When I woke up I needed some time before I realized where I was and the moment I remembered some of the events that occurred during the past night, I started blushing. That was when Eiri entered the room, looking slightly angry. I didn't know what was on his mind, but when he saw me standing in the middle of the bed, my face as red as the sun is when it sets down, he groaned and said:

"Have a shower and eat your breakfast. If you don't hurry up you'd be late for the literature class."

I climbed down the bed and enveloped my arms around his neck, my lips locking with his in a gentle kiss. He only pushed me back and said:

"Oi, baka. What are you doing?"

"Saying 'good morning', Eiri." I said, a big smile on my face.

"Brat … that is not a way of saying 'good morning' you know? Not to me at least."

I was now confused. Why was he acting like this after all that happened last night? Didn't he at least feel something for me? Was I the only one to feel the way I felt for him? Was that my destiny? To love but never be loved back?

As if he read my mind, Eiri said:

"Nothing happened last night. Forget about all of that. I am not into men. I am straight. Last night was an exception, a mistake. It will never happen again, so you should get over it."

Those words were like a cold shower. As I was starting to understand what he was saying, I felt myself shutting down. I could feel my heart getting heavier and heavier, sinking in a pond of sorrow. When the door closed with a 'click' behind him, I heard it, felt it, shattering into millions of pieces. _'… a mistake. Last night was a mistake.'_ This simple statement was echoing in my torn heart and mind.

I went back into my room to look for some clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower. I cried all the time and didn't even stop when I entered the kitchen to have my breakfast. _'At least he prepared it. He cooked breakfast for me this morning.'_ But not even this thought managed to bring a light of hope in my broken heart.

I was still sobbing when I entered the literature class and took the seat next to the cold dorm mate of mine. He didn't even look at me. Not once. When the teacher started the lecture, I couldn't pay attention. He was talking about some novel when he interrupted himself mid-sentence to ask me:

"Shindou-san, are you alright? You don't look too well."

I looked up at hearing someone calling my name and only then realized the teacher was talking to me. Only then it struck me that I had been crying for the entire morning and during the class too. I must have looked very bad, because the teacher sent me to the bathroom to wash my face.

When I reached the men's room, I instantly went to the mirror. I couldn't believe that was me. My once joyful eyes were now red and swollen because of continuingly crying for the past hours. My face looked as if I didn't get much of a sleep for three days in a row. I didn't recognize myself in the person I saw and even if I tried, I just couldn't stop crying.

And while looking in the mirror, my thoughts away, I remembered crying last night because of a nightmare. But I didn't know what it was about. I couldn't remember even if I wanted to. I don't know for how long I stayed like that, but after a while, I heard the door opening and someone calling my name.

It took me a while to realize it and finally turn my eyes in the direction of the person that talked to me.

"The teacher sent me to see if you were alright. He was worried because you didn't come back and he wanted to make sure you didn't pass out or something."

I blinked a few times in an attempt of focusing on the person standing next to me. It was Eiri that brought me back to reality. He was looking at me with cold eyes, fuming because he had to baby-sit me again. I tried to say something, but he interrupted me by showing the door. We exited the bathroom walking towards our classroom. As I got near the door and was about to open it, I remembered something from the last night's dream.

'_Would you stay by Eiri's side even if he tries to back out and turns his back on you?'_ I froze instantly. Where did that come from? I was now repeating the question out loud without even knowing it. When Eiri asked me something I could only manage to mumble something before everything turned black, collapsing on the floor.

**Normal P.O.V.**

When Eiri saw the boy collapsing on the floor, he felt a pain of guilt in his heart. He thought it was his fault Shuichi had been crying the entire morning and fainted because of it. He gently picked the boy up and took him to the infirmary. He explained the doctor what happened and why he was unconscious. He wanted to leave and let him in the doctor's care, but she said it was better if he stayed, so that when he awakens he could see a familiar face. In that way he will not get scared. He agreed and took a seat on one of the chairs next to the bed Shuichi was lying on.

He was pondering on what he said just before fainting. _'Would you stay by Eiri's side even if he tries to back out and turns his back on you?'_ _'What was that about, anyway? Stay by my side even if I turn my back on him? Wait … isn't that what I did today? What is the brat up to now?'_

Deep in his thoughts he didn't notice one confused Shuichi Shindou staring at him. _'Why is he here? Did he bring me here after I collapsed? But why did he do such a think? He said I was a mistake, didn't he?'_ the last thought remembered him the sorrow of the morning and a terrible headache was now forming at the back of his forehead. He couldn't think, nor could he speak. He just sat there looking at the beautiful man in front of him. After a few silent moments, Shuichi decided it was time to say something, anything:

"So … what happened?"

The question made Eiri flinch in surprise but he regained his composure quickly. _'Just as the form did in my dream.'_ Before even realizing he remembered something else from the dream he had last night, Eiri growled:

"You fainted because you cried too much. And I had to carry you all the way to the infirmary."

"Thanks." Shuichi didn't know what else to say. In fact he didn't want to say anything. He just wanted to go back to the dorm and be alone in his room.

"What did you mean with that last sentence you said before you fainted?"

"What sentence?"

"You know, the one with staying by my side even if I turn my back on you." Eiri was waiting for an answer now and he didn't know what to say.

"It was something from a nightmare I had last night. I remembered it just before I collapsed in the hallway."

"That is what made you cry last night?" Eiri growled.

"A part of it." Te boy said in a small voice. He didn't want to infuriate the blonde and he noticed that he was successfully doing it, so he didn't want to say anything anymore.

"If I was a mistake Eiri, then I don't wish you to make the same mistake twice. So I will be as invisible as I can. I thank you very much for bringing me here, but I do not want you to miss your lessons because of me. So I think you should leave. I will be back in the dorm after the doctor says I can go. I will not attend any lessons today, so you don't have to worry about me being in the same room with you." The whole time he spoke, Shuichi didn't look in the other one's eyes. He couldn't look at him and tell him those words, at least not without him realizing how hurt he was.

For a few moments there was a cold silence between them. But Eiri broke it. He took the boys chin and forced him to look him in his eyes. Shuichi's bright violet eyes, once filed with joy and energy, were now empty, soulless, like the eyes of a puppet. He could see the life in his eyes draining and leaving behind two shipwrecked purple orbs.

"Later," he simply said before leaving.

Without even knowing, Shuichi was slowly taking the easy way out of the problem, but the most terrible one. Lucifer was happy seeing that the boy was now retreating. He didn't even have to interfere between them. Eiri did everything for him. _'Playing with Kitazawa's mind was the cherry on the cake.'_

**_A.N. This is not a very good chapter and I appologize for it. Please bare with me and I promise the next ones will be better. _**

Review please.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A.N. I am sorry for taking this long to update. Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it. **_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or any of the characters._**

****

_**VIII. **__**Shipwrecked orbs**_

A few hours later, Shuichi was released from the infirmary and allowed to return to his dorm. Although he had been sleeping the entire time, he was beaten. As soon as he fell asleep, one sentence seemed to pop up from nowhere in his dreams: _'Would you stay by Eiri's side even if he tries to back out and turns his back on you?'_

When in his room, he curled up in a ball in his bed, looking at the candle next to the window. _'Why am I still dreaming this? Why can't I forget that question?'_ Slowly he dozed off into a restless sleep, the same question echoing in his mind. Only that this time its answer came along: _'Of course. I love him. I want him to be happy and I will always stay with him.'_ Now he remembered a small part of the nightmare he had the previous night.

He opened his purple orbs and just stared at the candlelight, thinking of what could that mean. He remembered speaking with somebody in his dream but he didn't know who he was. But he knew by now that they had been talking about Eiri. At the mere thought of his cold dorm mate, a shiver traveled through his little body.

He loved Eiri, but he wasn't sure if the novelist felt anything for him. He inclined to think he didn't, but then the thought about Eiri picking him up twice from the floor and taking care of him, cooking him breakfast, offering to help him with his studies, made him change his mind. _'Maybe he does care about me. Even if only a little, but still I would be pleased.'_ Shuichi thought.

For the next days, Shuichi was acting as if he was a robot. He ate, walked and attended classes without having the slightest will of his own. He even sang without projecting his feelings into music. He was just a puppet on strings and the puppeteer was none other than one word, carved with burning letters into his mind: _'mistake'_.

His eyes lacked the joy and curiosity that were always present and his energy was gone too. They were unfocused, empty and lifeless. It seemed as if the entire will of living just vanished from the boy's orbs and body, as if he had nothing to live for and he was giving up. He looked as if he was cursed: he wasn't dead because his brain and body functioned, but he wasn't alive either because his heart was broken into millions of pieces.

A few days later, while the boys were recording one new song, understanding from Shuichi's behavior that something was wrong with him, Hiro decided to help him. He couldn't stand having a lifeless friend. So when in their brake, he enveloped one arm around the boy's shoulders and asked:

"Shuichi, what happened to you?"

Big, lifeless, sad violet orbs turned towards him in what was supposed to be a puzzled expression:

"Nothing." he said in a little voice.

"You may fool the others, but you can't fool me, Shu. Something is wrong with you and I want to know what. I am your best friend Shuichi, why don't you want to tell me?"

Shuichi gave a little sigh and started talking in a whisper:

"You remember some days ago I didn't attend classes? Nor did I come with you to rehearsals?"

"Yeah … you told us you felt very sick and you needed rest."

"Well that was only one part of the truth. The night before, when we arrived to our dorm, Eiri ended up kissing me."

At this sudden declaration, Hiro's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yuki-san? Kissed you?"

"Y-yeah. But after he kissed me he left for his room. And I kind of … burst in and … well … things happened." Shuichi turned away from facing his best friend in an attempt of hiding the blush on his face at the sudden outburst, but Hiro wasn't fooled. He saw his friend blush.

"And why are you so sad now? Because of that night?"

"No Hiro. It is because of what he said in the morning. He told me that I was a mistake and that it will never happen again. I missed the rehearsals that day because I cried the entire morning and collapsed on the hallway." Shuichi said more in a whisper. He couldn't talk anymore; the sobs and tears were overwhelming him.

Hiro was now fuming. _'How could he act like that? Just use him as a sex toy and then tell him it was all a mistake? That __**he**__ was a mistake? That bastard. I will never forgive him for that.'_ Shuichi saw his friend's eyes lighting with anger, but said nothing. Even if he wanted, he couldn't talk.

As if things couldn't get better, that day Tohma Seguchi came to see how the band was doing. And he wasn't alone. Eiri Yuki was with him. The two men stared in disbelief as the tinny boy looked lost in the recording-booth. His angelic voice didn't have any of the energy and the feelings that once had. He was singing quite well, considering the condition he was in, but Tohma Seguchi didn't know anything about it, so he wasn't pleased with the boy's performances.

After they finished the recording for the day, Tohma said he wanted to talk to Shuichi in private. The look on his face spoke a thousand words. He was scared that because of his feelings he blew up Hiro's and Suguru's chances of becoming famous and doing what they liked the most: play. He didn't even think about himself. He didn't care what happened to him anymore.

"Shindou-san, I am not pleased with you."

Shuichi snapped out of his thoughts at the mere realization that Seguchi-san spoke. He turned his empty gaze towards the president of NG Records for a brief moment and then he stared at the floor. That was enough for Tohma to see the look in the boy's eyes. He didn't know what happened to the bundle of happiness Shuichi used to be only a few days ago when he first met the singer. He was shocked at such a sight in front of him, but Tohma didn't let it show on his face. He maintained his plastered smile and said:

"Shindou-san, if you continue like this, I will drop the contract with Bad Luck. I don't need a band that has potential, but doesn't want to exploit it and get the best of it. Do you understand?"

"Yes Seguchi-san. I am very sorry about it. I … it is only my fault. I had some problems, but I promise I will not let you or the band down."

"That is what I wanted to hear from you, because I scheduled a concert for you. Next week, the band Ask, the best band in NG Records for now, has a concert in Tokyo and I scheduled you to open it."

Shuichi's eyes widened in surprise and for a short moment a sparkle appeared in them. For a short moment he was happy.

"Really? We will be singing in front of a crowd?"

"Yes. You will be singing two songs. I was thinking of 'Rain' and 'Rage Beat'."

"As you say, Seguchi-san. Thank you."

"You can go now, Shindou-san. And don't forget to tell your band mates about the concert. They don't know yet. And tonight you will be leaving with Eiri, since he came by car."

At the last words of the president, Shuichi's cheeks grew even paler than they were. It seemed that every drop of energy and life just drained out of his little body. He resembled so much with a corpse that Tohma Seguchi's smile faded away and opened the door and called K. When the boy was out of his office, Tohma couldn't stop a thought: _'So this has something to do with Eiri. But what could have happened between them to bring Shindou-san in such a state?' _

Out of the president's office, Shuichi went to his friends and told them the good news. Hiro and Suguru were thrilled, Sakano just fainted because of the emotion and K shoved his magnum in each of their faces and told them not to blow it. None of them seem to observe the lack of energy Shuichi should have showed upon such a great piece of news. Only Hiro saw the sadness in his friend's eyes. But for just a brief moment he saw the sparkle of hope lighten there. And he knew his friend was making progress.

The announcement they will return to the university in Eiri's car managed to snap Hiro out of his thoughts. He didn't want the cold blonde to take them back, but as Shuichi said, Seguchi-san asked him to give them a ride since he was there by car.

They entered the black Mercedes, Hiro and Suguru in the back and Shuichi in the passenger's seat, and left. The drive back was silent. Hiro and Suguru were not saying a word and Shuichi was too tired and too sad to say anything. But at one point, Eiri broke the silence with one of his cold sentences:

"Oi, brat, you were awful today in rehearsal."

Shuichi didn't say anything at first, just stared in the night. But when Hiro wanted to answer the blonde, he saw that his best friend was slowly turning his head to the driver's seat. Shuichi set his eyes on Eiri and said:

"That was because I didn't feel well."

"You seem not to feel well for an awful hell of a time. These past days you were acting as if you were a robot."

Shuichi turned his eyes away, not wanting to let the cold hearted novelist see the tears that were whelming up in his orbs and didn't say anything. None of them said anything for the rest of the journey. They spent it in silence, a tensioned silence that could be felt by both the novelist and singer.

'_Could it be possible that he cares about me? How is it that he noticed I wasn't myself for the last days?'_ These thoughts were coming and going in his mind. And as he thought about it, his eyes lightened with hope. Slowly, but surely, he was coming back to life.

That night, Eiri saw the change in his dorm mate. _'So it is really true that he feels deeply for me. If only one sentence seemed to bring the joy back to his eyes, I wonder what could a kiss do? Aahhh, Eiri stop thinking like that. He means nothing for you. He is only a brat. Yeah, a brat that you almost destroyed, but nonetheless a brat.'_ At the last thought, Eiri shook his head in frustration and took a glimpse of the boy who sat next to him. He was curled up in a ball staring in the night. His pink locks were a mess and his purple orbs were unfocused.

Back in the dorm, the boys went to their rooms and closed the doors behind them. Eiri went to the desk and started working at his newest novel and Shuichi went to bed, but as he couldn't sleep he went to the couch and plopped on it. He turned the TV on and searched the music channel. He found it and for his stupor, there was a Nittle Grasper concert on, so he turned the volume at maximum. The music was mesmerizing and Shuichi lost himself in it and started singing and dancing along with Ryuichi Sakuma's voice, bringing a new sound to the songs. As soon as he forgot all about his troubles and dark thoughts, his eyes became brighter and brighter and the energy and joy could be seen in them again.

Back in his room, Eiri lost his concentration as the TV burst out loud in the room next to his and he was making his way towards Shuichi when he stopped midway. He heard the boy singing and he could tell something was different from the way he sang a few hours earlier, so he opened the door and looked in the living room. And the sight that unfolded in front of his eyes pinned him in that spot. Seeing the brat dancing in such a provocative way, moving his body on the rhythms of the music, awestricken him. He wanted to go to the boy and roughly push him on the couch and ravish him there and then.

As the song was coming to its end, Shuichi's eyes traveled in the room and fell on one cold hearted novelist. He stopped dancing and singing at an instant and turned the TV off, remembering Eiri told him to keep quiet because he needed to work.

"I am sorry for disturbing you, Eiri-san."

At the use of the formalities, Eiri frowned a little.

"I thought I told you I am working and I asked you to be quiet. Why were you making so much noise?" Eiri growled.

"I couldn't sleep and came to watch TV. I didn't realize what I was doing until I saw you standing there. You see, Ryuichi Sakuma is my idol and I always like to sing along when I hear one of his songs." Shuichi said in a small voice.

Eiri was about to say something in return to his answer, but reconsidered it when he saw the boy's eyes. They were bright and joyful. As if the music has wiped away all the worries Shuichi had.

"I will go to my room. I am sorry for interrupting your work." Shuichi said, face looking down, in a sign of regret and shame for disturbing the man.

"At least it seems you will be able to sing to your concert. That is if you don't start acting like a zombie again."

Shuichi's eyes widened in surprise. He definitely wasn't expecting such a reply from him.

"Yes. I will not disappoint Hiro and Suguru. They trusted their dreams with me and I don't want to crush them. They are my band mates and even more than that, they are my **friends**. And friends never hurt each other's feelings." Shuichi added with a frown on his face.

'_He is even cuter when he frowns. Oh how I wish I could kiss him senseless right now.' _Eiri thought. But instead of approaching the boy he just stood there and said:

"That serious look on your face doesn't do you justice. So you better get ride of it." _'That should do it. This should confuse him even more than these past couple of days.'_ A smirk appeared on his lips as he saw the questioning expression from the boy's eyes. He was deliberately playing with his feelings and he was pleased to see he could read him as if he was an open book. But what amazed him the most were Shuichi's mood changes that seemed to occur with the speed of lightening.

Eiri didn't wait for an answer from Shuichi and turned on his heels and got back into his room. He sat down at the laptop and tried to continue his novel. But he didn't have that luck. He couldn't concentrate anymore, instead thoughts about a certain pink haired boy popped up in his mind. He groaned as he was saving his work and shut the laptop. But before he could get in his bed a very fuming Shuichi burst into his room, again, and said:

"I dare you to come to the concert and see that I can rock the place. I dare you to come, you understand? Let's see if you have the guts to show up."

"You dare me? You think I don't have the guts to show up to you little concert next week? You are mistaken." Eiri answered in his cold manner. _'This brat doesn't stop amazing me. He really is an emotional hurricane.'_

With that being said, Shuichi exited the novelist's room and headed for his own. He needed his rest. The past week was a mess and he really needed to be in shape at school and rehearsals.

Next day, in one of the brakes, Hiro caught Eiri by himself and asked him if they could speak in private. They entered an empty class and when the door was closed, Hiro took the novelist by his shirt and with anger in his eyes and voice he said:

"If you ever say or do something to Shuichi again and hurt him I will not forgive you. I will hunt you down and I will take care you never in your life do it again. Understand?" With that he let go the novelist and made it for the door but remembered something:

"If you ever make him cry for anything but his own stupidity I will come for you."

That being said, Hiro opened the door and exited the room. Eiri remained still for a moment. After thinking it thoroughly, he left the empty classroom and went to his next lecture. _'This Shuichi Shindou is quite a figure. At least he has devoted friends.'_ At this thought a smirk appeared on his face, smirk that didn't fade when he was taken his seat next to his dorm mate in the English class.

**_A.N. So how did you like it? Please review and tell me because I had a tough time writing this chapter (I didn't know what direction should my story take)._**

**_So please REVIEW. Thanks a lot._**


	9. Chapter 9

**_A.N. Sorry everybody for taking me so much to update the story ... I hope you enjoy this new chapter. _**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation, nor do I own the characters. _**

_**IX. New beginnings**_

The following week passed with the speed of light for the boys and finally the day before the concert arrived. Shuichi was thrilled at the mere thought of the next day's concert. He was bouncing off the walls while shouting in a singsong voice:

"We've got a concert! We've got a concert! WE'VE GOT A CONCERT!"

At his last vocal demonstration, K retorted:

"Shuichi lay off the coffee and sweets!" and Suguru muttered:

"Baka."

Hiro was in fact the only one happy to see his best friend back to normal. The first thing he did when he laid his eyes on him that morning was to check him. And he was happy to see that Shuichi's eyes were filled with joy and energy and he was willing to sing his heart out. Hiro was content to see the bundle of joy back to his normal state, that of one overjoyful, pink haired, energetic Shuichi Shindou.

While K was shooting around, in a desperate attempt to calm down the kid, Hiro carefully stepped in front of him, grabbed his arm and dragged him in the recording booth, one Suguru Fujisaki following close, muttering to himself:

"Hopefully we will be able to rehearse our songs for the concert tomorrow. We only have two days left and we have to work hard if we want to be in our best shape."

That day, Tohma Seguchi came by to see how the band was doing and he was pleased to see them working their buts off for the concert. He was pleased that Shuichi was now back to normality and he was giving his best in the rehearsals. _'If he sings at the concert like he sings right now, they will surpass Ask and the sailings of the album when released will be double comparing to the first album Ask had.'_

The day slowly faded away into a full-moon night. As they were brought back to the university, the boys couldn't stop thinking at the concert. They knew it was not a big deal, just sing two of their songs and leave. They were supposed to perform well, but not better than Ask. Or so they thought. Little they knew that Tohma had something planned for them, something that will boost them on top of the charts.

Next day they were all agitated during classes. They were starting having second thoughts and doubting they could pull it through. Only Shuichi remained cheerful and optimistic. He wasn't afraid that something could go wrong.

The day passed slowly for them, but finally the much awaited moment came and they got in the car Tohma sent for them. He sent them a message through their manager to let them know he will be attending some business and will directly come to the concert hall.

Meanwhile the boys were heading Tokyo, Tohma was driven to the airport. A few days earlier he had an idea and contacted his friends to share it. They agreed to meet in his office and talk more about it. The business he was attending to at the moment was to pick one of them from the airport.

The moment Ryuichi spotted his former band mate and good friend he gave him a huge hug. He was happy to see him again and he gave Kumagorou to Tohma, saying the bunny wanted to hug him also. The blonde keyboardist gently took the pink stuffed toy and gave it a light hug.

When they finally got into Tohma's limousine, he said:

"I want you to come to a concert with me tonight, Ryuichi. I strongly think you will like the band, since the singer resembles you so much."

"Nani? What is his name? And what is the name of the band? Do I know it or is it a new band?"

"The band is called Bad Luck and the singer's name is Shuichi Shindou. It is a new band and tonight is their debut on the stage. The boy, who is 19, is very much like you and besides that, you are his idol."

"Can he sing na no da?" Ryuichi said in a singsong voice, enthusiasm written all over his face. He was very curious about the band from the moment Tohma told him the singer resembled him.

"He has a beautiful voice. He will be in the top of all the charts in no time. They are talented. Suguru is their keyboardist."

"Really? Suguru-chan is in the band? Yey … I get to see him again. Kumagorou is very happy and he asks if we can go now to see Suguru-chan."

"Yes Ryuichi, we are heading the concert hall as we speak. And pay attention to the singer, will you?" Tohma added and gave the stuffed bunny a reassuring pet on the head, seeing Ryuichi was concerning about him appearing in public after so much time.

When Hiro, Shuichi and Suguru finally arrived at their destination, they couldn't believe their eyes. The place was packed and they could hear the fans screaming the names of the members of Ask. At that point, Shuichi broke the silence by observing:

"Will we ever have that many fans?" To his stupor, Taki Aizawa, lead singer of Ask, answered in a cold tone:

"You can only dream of that. But you will never have our popularity. Do you hear them screaming our names? So hurry up and do your little two songs performance so the crowd won't be disappointed for too long."

Shuichi turned his gaze upon him and responded:

"Tonight they will be only our fans, because we are better than you are. And they will only scream our names and they will be disappointed when you will come on the stage and we will leave it."

At his words, Taki's eyes lightened with anger and made his way towards Shuichi, only to be stopped midway by a protective Hiro. Before anything else could happen, K came in and announced the boys they have to go backstage because they only have 5 minutes until the concert. Before exiting the room, Taki said:

"You are worthless. You will never be able to take our fans."

With that being said, Bad Luck exited the room also and headed to the backstage. In due time, they were on stage, preparing for their first song: 'Rain'.

Shuichi grabbed the microphone and said:

"Good evening everyone. We are Bad Luck and we are going to rock the house before Ask comes on stage."

By now, Hiro and Suguru started playing the song and as Shu was waiting for the note he should start singing on, he let his eyes travel upon the crowd and saw the one he never expected to be there. Eiri Yuki was standing in the back of the concert hall, just by the door, looking intensely at the singer, as if saying _'See brat, I have the guts to show up at your little concerts. Now let's see if you can sing.'_

At that instant, Shuichi froze. He missed his enter for the song and almost dropped the microphone. He couldn't take his eyes from the gorgeous blonde novelist standing by the door. As Hiro and Suguru restarted playing the song, the crowd began yelling to get off the stage and leave. They were furious, so furious that they almost made their way to the stage to throw the band out of there.

At that point, a clear voice made its way to Shuichi's and the crowd's ears, singing one of the most popular songs of Nittle Grasper. As the person singing was approaching the stage, Shu's jaw dropped to the floor, recognizing his idol, Ryuichi Sakuma.

As soon as he was on stage, next to Shuichi, he took the microphone, god rid of the sunglasses and cap and said:

"Hy everyone. I am Ryuichi Sakuma, former lead singer of Nittle Grasper. This here is my friend Shuichi and he has a wonderful voice. What do you say about giving him an encouraging clasp? Shuichi, do you want to sing with me, please?"

At Ryuichi's question, Shuichi blushed and nodded and both of them started singing 'Sleepless Beauty'. Hiro and Suguru easily accompanied them, both of them knowing the musical notes for the song. When they finished the song, Ryuichi gave Shuichi the microphone and exited the stage.

Bad Luck started playing their own songs and this time Shuichi sang along, the cold novelist long forgotten. He sang his heart out and at the end of the 'Rage Beat' he could hear the crowd cheering them. So Shu said:

"Thank you so much everyone. And now I would like to present you my band mates. At the guitar, Hiroshi Nakano." At this, Hiro came next to Shuichi and started a guitar solo, one of his own pieces, to show the crowd his talent. When he finished, a couple of minutes later, Shuichi said: "Thanks Hiro. At the keyboards, Suguru Fujisaki." Just as Hiro did, Suguru started playing one of his own pieces, a very difficult one, and after finishing Shuichi added again: "Thanks Suguru. And I am Shuichi Shindou." And he started singing:

_Orenji iro tsuki yoru ga kuruto kimi no koto o omoi dasu_

_kakko tsuketa ore no serifu wa hoka no dare kano serifu de_

_fui ni miageru shiruettu kimi no yokogao o terashita_

_awai hikari wa ima demo_

When he finished his solo, Shuichi could hear the crowd screaming their names and asking for more songs. Although he wanted to continue singing, he thought it would not be cautious since they were supposed to sing only two songs and not three, considering the duet with Ryuichi. So they exited the stage leaving the spot open for Ask.

"Shuichi, you were right. The crowd was ours tonight. Ask is on stage, but the fans still scream our names." Hiro said happily. But Shuichi didn't hear him. All he could think of and say was:

"I sang with Ryuichi Sakuma! Can you believe it? It felt like a dream!" Shuichi was bouncing off the walls. Even when Suguru nervously asked :

"Why did you freeze on stage, Shuichi?"

he didn't come out of the dream world. It took a very serious Tohma Seguchi to bring him back to reality with the same question Suguru asked.

"I saw someone in the crowd that I never thought will come and that thing awestruck me." Shuichi said in a little voice. He was ashamed of his week moment on stage and said:

"It will never happen again. I promise I will do better from now on."

In that moment, Ryuichi came in, with his pink bunny on top of his head and with a block notes and a marker in his hands, asking for Shuichi's autograph. Shu instantly paled, his eyes as big as a tennis ball, and said in a little voice:

"You want my autograph, Sakuma-san?"

"Call me Ryuichi na no da. Ne, Shuichi, do you want to give me the autograph?" Ryuichi added with a childish, but cute pout on his face.

Hands shaking uncontrollably, Shuichi took the block notes and the marker and wrote: _'To my idol, Ryuichi Sakuma, from Shuichi Shindou.'_

When he gave them back to the older singer, Ryuichi started jumping around, in a similar way Shuichi had dome a few moments earlier: "Yay … I got an autograph from Shu-chan."

He went to Tohma and stuck the piece of paper under his nose. He put a hand on the singer's head and rustled his hair, before trying to get back to Bad Luck.

"Ne Tohma, isn't Shuichi so much like me? I want to sing with him again."

"Yes, Shindou-san resembles you very much, but he is very different too. And you will get the chance to sing with him again quite soon."

"I am very pleased with the way things turned out today. It seems that the idea of bringing Ryuichi to your concert was genial. Now I have no doubts the public still loves him, so it will be no problem for Nittle Grasper to come back."

At this piece of information, Shuichi stopped midway from whatever he was doing and gazed at Tohma. He couldn't believe it. That meant they would be rivals, but it also meant that his idol and favourite band were coming back.

He was torn between being happy because of it and being sad they had such a rival. He knew they would never surpass them if they didn't work hard.

And so the challenge begins.

_**A.N. This is a chapter that I am not very pleased with. I hope you will not be very upset because of it ...**_

**_The lyrics are from 'In the Moonlight' and here is the translation:_**

_When night comes with the orange light of the moon, I think of you,_

_like the elegant prose of my words was someone's else._

_Even now I can recall the pale light outlining you standing tall._

_**I have one huge request for you guys. If anyone of you knows a link where I can find the manga for Gravitation, even if I have to read it online and can't download it, please tell me in a private message, or at least tell me in a review and I will give my email so you could send me the link. (I don't know if it is ok to write links in the reviews or in the story so ... let me know please)**_

**_Thanks a lot. _**

**_And I also want to thank you for your reviews._**

**_And don't forget to read and review._**


	10. Chapter 10

_**A.N. Hy everyone. I had some free time and I thought it would be nice if I continue my story so this is chapter 10. Enjoy!**_

**_As for the 'Disclaimer' I brought two 'friends' to help me with it ;)_**

**_God: Sayuri-girl doesn't own Gravitation or the characters._**

**_Lucifer: But I could mess up with her mind and make her think she does. That would be fun. (evil smirk)_**

**_God: No you won't do that._**

_**X. Enemies and friends**_

Taki was fuming. _'How was he able to take our fans away?'_ was all he was thinking of. He couldn't figure out how the pink-haired moped managed to win the crowd to such an extent that they kept asking for Bad Luck even after Ask had been playing for a half an hour. They never managed to win them back and that was what enraged Taki.

So he made up his mind. He would look for as many information about that Shuichi guy and find something to ruin his career. His mind was set on this the next day and he started his research. And soon enough he found what he needed. Shuichi was attending the same university as he was.

When he returned to the campus he asked around about the young boy and his questions didn't remain unanswered. Shuichi Shindou was 19 years old, _'a freshman huh?'_, he was majoring in literature, English and music, _'Wait, I never saw him in the music class, which means he must be in the choir.'_ and he was Eiri Yuki's dorm mate.

At this last piece of information, Taki's eyes widened in surprise. _'That is a point to start from. I've heard about the events that occurred during the first day of school between Eiri Yuki and a freshman that was signed to be his dorm mate, but never thought it was the baka in question.'_ Taki thought, a devilish grin blossoming on his lips.

He was pleased with the information and was now developing a plan in his mind to get rid of the boy. _'I'll go to Eiri Yuki and ask for his help. After all, from what I've heard, he must hate Shuichi. It will be piece of cake to ruin him.'_ Taki was by now lost in thoughts, not noticing where he was going. So obviously he bumped into someone.

"Oi, what you're doing? Don't you see where you're going?" he yelled at the boy, recollecting himself from the ground. The bumping made them both fall on their buts.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't looking." came the response. _'Wait a minute. I know this voice.'_ Taki thought and looked at the boy in front of him. If he still had doubts about who he was, the pink hair and the violet eyes dissipated them.

"You little twerp. I will personally take care you go down." Taki told him, before storming off to his next class.

Shuichi was a little amazed by the other's reaction. He didn't do anything wrong and besides, he apologized, didn't he? _'We are rivals but he doesn't have to be that mean. I didn't do anything to him, besides wining his fans' hearts the other night.'_ At this thought Shuichi's smile widened and the over energetic boy got off the floor.

At that instant a thought, or more likely a memory popped out from nowhere in Shuichi's mind: _'I'm the one who'll make your life miserable, you little twerp.'_ _'What was that? Where did that come from?'_ Shuichi thought. His smile faded away at the mere realization it was a small piece from the nightmare he had after the night he spent with Eiri. _'But who said that to me? And why? Why would I dream of somebody threatening me?'_ When he entered the classroom, he saw the cold novelist already at his place waiting for the lecture to begin, and as Shuichi was taking his seat next to him, the lecturer entered, so he fought back his troubled thoughts and paid attention to the teacher.

During their breaks, Taki was looking for the perfect opportunity to speak with Eiri, but he didn't find any. The halls were always crowded and he decided it was not a good idea to talk with the novelist about his plan when there were so many people around them. So he waited until lunch time, when he spotted him under a huge sakura tree in the campus.

Taki approached him and said:

"You Eiri Yuki?"

"And who wants to know?" Eiri responded with another question.

"Taki Aizawa. I am from the band Ask."

"The band that was outmatched at its own concert by a debutant band?"

"Yes." Taki said, an eyebrow twitching in anger, not wanting to be reminded of that. "And the ones outmatching us were Bad Luck. Its lead singer, Shuichi Shindou, is your dorm mate."

"I know who its lead singer is. Actually I know the band. After all we are dorm mates, so I get to hear him singing quite an amount of time." Eiri added with a cold and neutral voice.

"I came to propose you a deal. I want to see him going down and I know you can't stand him, so I was thinking we should work together to accomplish our desire." Taki's eyes were now lightened with rage.

"Hnnn." was all Eiri said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "And what exactly are you planning to do to him?" he asked nonchalantly. This gave Taki the wrong idea the novelist was about to accept his proposal so he continued:

"I was thinking of hiring some bullies to take care of him. You know: beat him and maybe even have their ways with him." Taki said, eyes gleaming red with malice and delight at his plan, glaring daggers in the direction of anybody who dared to look at them.

At this point in their conversation, Eiri's eyes were full of contempt for Taki and said in a cold voice:

"You are low Taki. And I would never do that, no matter how much he gets on my nerves. And actually, he did sing way better than you." Eiri said, an eyebrow quirked in annoyance. "You're envious on him and I suggest you leave that brat alone." he added in a threatening voice.

Just before he could say anything, Taki saw the boy in question approaching them. He couldn't believe his eyes. _'The cold hearted Eiri Yuki threatened me? And more than that, he is actually spending time with this punk?'_ He was brought back to reality by a cold voice:

"Time for our study, Taki, so kindly leave us alone."

'_Is this really happening? Is the distant novelist actually tutoring a freshman? That is a first. I never heard about him tutoring anybody and now he does it for a pink haired freshman?'_ These were his thoughts when he was making his way towards the cafeteria. And although he was not paying attention to anything else besides them, he still heard the boy's words:

"So Eiri, what are we going to study today? Literature or English?"

'_The kid calls him by his name? There is something fishy over here.'_ So he changed his mind and instead of going to lunch he plopped on the nearest bench from where he could see the two but not be seen back. So he could analyze them and see what he could use to bring down that Shuichi Shindou.

"Both. Pay attention, brat, at the first lessons. Because, if now we are going to study them separately, one by one, later on we are going to combine them." Eiri said, his eyes fixing the small boy in front of him. _'His frame body is so petite and his face is so childish you wouldn't say he is a university freshman.'_

Eiri decided they should start with literature. So they started discussing one of his novels. He was explaining Shuichi the basics of a novel and what he should expect from different points of view and when he asked the singer his opinion upon one of the characters and its actions, Eiri couldn't stop casting glances at him. Every time Shuichi couldn't explain something or didn't understand he pouted in a very cute way that was driving the elder boy insane.

This made him think at the night they spent together, at the way Shuichi's skin reacted at his touch and at the lust burning in his eyes when he burst into Eiri's room. _'This is not good. I'm supposed to concentrate on the literature lesson, but somehow I find it hard when he is so close to me and he pouts in that specific way of his. It makes me bend over and kiss him.'_ But this was no good. He couldn't do that. He made a promise and Eiri Yuki was not a person to break a promise.

After having enough literature for the day, Eiri turned towards Shuichi and started asking him questions in English. In the beginning they were simple, like "What is your name?", "How old are you?", "Where are you from?" but steadily the questions became tougher and tougher, until the point Shuichi couldn't understand anymore, Eiri receiving a very adorable pout from the childish singer because of that.

"I did this because I wanted to know how much English you know. And I am pleased to find out that you are not a complete zero at this subject. Well, we will start with the basics and we will steadily work through everything that is discussed in the lecture." Eiri said.

And so the lessons continued, Shuichi listening to Eiri and taking notes and Eiri explaining the basics and asking him to repeat the pronunciation of various words.

Shuichi was too preoccupied to observe the glances the novelist was casting upon him, but Taki noticed them and it instantly hit him. _'There must be something between them. Perfect!'_

The following weeks passed by quickly and Shuichi was getting more and more tired. Their album had been released a week after the concert and it had huge sailings, bigger than Ask's first album had, and now the boys were caught up with the rehearsals.

Shuichi's day was very busy. He had lectures to attend to, the lessons with Eiri during the lunch break, which, as Eiri said from day one, were now completely in English, some more lectures after that and then rehearsals. At least Shuichi could see he was progressing in both subjects and he was thankful to Eiri for that. He came to enjoy their lessons under the sakura tree and the novelist immediately saw the change in the boy. If in the beginning he was tensed and he listened very carefully to everything the elder boy said, now Shuichi was relaxed and the pleasure that was written on his face when spending time with Eiri showed the latter one the brat's feelings for him were growing even stronger.

Taki saw that too and now he was sure that Shuichi had strong feelings for the novelist. He wasn't sure if Eiri felt anything for him, but that didn't matter. After all he wanted to ruin the singer and not the writer. He didn't find it cautious to play with the novelist and try to harm him in any way, considering he was Tohma Seguchi's brother-in-law.

Coincidence made that one day Eiri went to talk with Tohma about having one of NG's bands at their party at the end of the school year. After discussing for some time and Tohma deciding upon sending Bad Luck, they both attended Bad Luck's rehearsal, the latter one asking the novelist if he would give them a lift back to the campus after they finish. He was pleased to see the boys working hard for their second album to be released and announced they would have a concert of their own in a month's due time, adding:

"And this is not all. Ryuichi asked if you would like to sing with him again, this time one of your songs, though."

"Really? Of course I would sing with him. I adore him, he is my idol." Shuichi said in a little voice. He couldn't believe this was happening; it was too good to be true. He felt as if he was dreaming and if that was the case, he never wanted to wake up.

"But this is not all. Eiri had a wonderful idea today and I have one more thing to announce you. You will be the band singing at your own party at the end of the school year. I suggest you work hard for both the events and do not disappoint me." Tohma added.

When Shuichi heard this, he gave a cry of happiness and started jumping off the walls. He was ecstatic; actually he was only being Shu-chan, the over energetic and over joyful boy. Even when in the car, settled in the passenger's seat, next to Eiri, he was still overreacting and repeating in a singsong voice: "We finally have our own concert. And a duet with THE Ryuichi Sakuma."

Shuichi kept like this during the entire ride back to their university and he was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't notice one Eiri Yuki staring him down, hunger obviously written in his eyes.

'_He is so cute and adorable when he acts like this that I can't take it anymore. I want to__ taste him one more time and these are the perfect moment and place.'_ Eiri thought, a smirk blossoming on his lips at the mere thought of the boy's reaction. So after both entered their dorm, Shuichi still taking about the concert and the duet, Eiri pinned him to the wall, for the second time, and shut him up with a passionate kiss.

He was expecting the boy's eyes to widen in surprise but he didn't expect him to kiss back. And he definitely didn't expect the little moan that escaped Shuichi's throat when he slipped his tongue in the boys mouth, exploring every inch of it and taking in the pleasures and scents it could offer.

They were both lost in their lustful desires and before they knew it they were lying on Eiri's bed, Shuichi on his back and the novelist on top of him, kissing passionately. Eiri was the first to break the kiss for lack of air and he started planting small kisses on Shuichi's neck trailing off to the boy's collarbone. Next he moved on getting his T-shirt off. Once he succeeded, he started planting ghost kisses down the boy's bare chest, looking for his right nipple. When he found it, Eiri took his time in caressing it with his tong, licking it and kissing it and gently sucking it and after that he kissed his way to the other one, giving it the same treatment as its twin got. At this unexpected attention and pleasure, Shuichi's back arched, which made the novelist turn his attention from the boy's left nipple and kiss his way to his belly, applying the same treatment to the navel. Shuichi escaped a soft moan and entangled his arms to the novelist's neck and his legs to the novelist's waist. Slowly, but surely, Eiri returned to the singer's mouth, taking it into a fierce kiss. Shuichi's hands looked for the buttons of the novelist's shirt and started undoing them, never breaking the kiss. Once he was done with it and his fingers met the pale skin, he turned his attention from Eiri's mouth and started kissing his neck down to the collarbone. Soon enough they both were approaching the climax and so Eiri took the initiative once more and started unbuttoning the boy's pants and literary ripping them off of him, boxers too and let Shuichi's small, trembling hands to get off his pants and boxers. While Shuichi's body was begging him to continue touching it and treat it with his kisses and caresses, he stopped a little to look at the wonderful sight in front of him. Shu's pink locks were ravished and dampened with sweat; his eyes were filled with lush, pleasure and love; he was gaping for air in an attempt to calm his body's shivers of pleasure. After taking in all that was Shuichi, he dived down kissing him and caressing his nipples while taking him.

After a while, Eiri collapsed next to Shuichi and gathered the pink bundle of energy in his arms. Before falling asleep the singer said in a horse but small voice:

"I love you Eiri." and with that he fell asleep in the blonde's arms. As a response, the novelist tightened his grip and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. But he couldn't sleep after what the little brat just said to him. _'I don't love him, but I have to admit I wouldn't let anything happen to him. And I definitely have to take care of that Taki Aizawa before he hurts my little Shuichi. Wait. Did I say _my_ Shuichi? Eiri you idiot. He doesn't mean anything to you. Stop thinking like that.'_

Eiri was falling for the boy without even knowing it. And God was pleased to see that they were slowly, but surely, falling for each other. He was happy to see the younger boy managed to somehow snick into the cold novelist's heart. It meant that half of the job was done. His soul mate loved him from the bottom of his heart. All that remained now was for Eiri to fall in love with him and, from the way things occurred, God knew that the novelist already adored the young boy he was holding in his arms.

While the two boys were lost in the depths of pleasure, Taki received an unexpected visit. Lucifer had been watching the pair from his kingdom the entire time since their first night together and he wasn't pleased with the turn things took. He was furious because it seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't separate those two. But he saw an opportunity in Taki. So he decided to pay him a surprise visit. Of course he would never know, but that was the best part.

Back in his room, Taki was finally asleep. He had been spending most of his free time thinking at what to do about Shuichi. And Lucifer found him in this vulnerable state of mind. It was easy for him to manipulate Taki and play with his thoughts. Of course that he made the boy set up his mind about hiring some bullies to hurt the younger singer. And he gave him the assurance that the latter one was in love with Eiri. This was what Taki would use against Shu and he would ask for the boy's cooperation if he wanted Eiri's reputation to remain intact. And this meant Shuichi had to leave the band and never sing again and keep quiet about the reason of doing it.

Of course these were all the Devil's plans, but Taki had some of his own too. So he wasn't an innocent boy who was corrupted by the great Lucifer. The Devil needed no hard work in this case, just a little push in the right direction. That is 'right' direction for things to end up the way he wanted. And that's what he did. He gave Taki the little push he needed to fulfill Lucifer's malicious plan.

**_A.N. I hope you like this chapter and you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it ;) _**

**_Don't forget to review please. _**

**_And I have to thank one of my readers and reviewers: _**

**_Supershu-chan, thank you very much for your reviews. They really help me and keep me going with this fiction ... especially after last chapter was not what I wanted it to be. I always enjoy your reviews ;)_**

**_And to all my readers I thank you too. _**


	11. Chapter 11

_**A.N. Gomen ne minna for taking me so long to update. I really wanted to update sooner but I had some exams and then some writer's block :pouts: ... this chapter is kind of short and I appologize for that, but I really like it.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation nor do I own the characters.**_

_**XI. **__**Answers**_

Eiri was the first to wake up next morning. He was set to go prepare the breakfast for both of them since _'that baka is a menace when it comes to cooking'_, but to his surprise he couldn't move. When he turned his eyes towards the impending object that kept him pinned to the bed, he saw one bundle of energy, on its name Shuichi, sleeping peacefully, curled up to his right side, his head on the elder boy's chest. Only then did the memories of last night's pleasures grace his mind.

While reliving some of the moments, he unconsciously wrapped his arms around the boy's slim waist. He snapped out of his eerie when Shuichi slowly woke up and placed a gentle kiss on Eiri's lips. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized he enjoyed being kissed by the boy. _'It can't be, can it? I can't fall for the brat.'_ thought Eiri.

He growled and shoved the boy away in an attempt of standing and going to the kitchen.

"Hurry up and take a shower while I prepare breakfast for us." he said in a cold voice.

When he came in the kitchen some time later, Shuichi saw Eiri was acting strange. So he went to him in an attempt of kissing him, but the elder boy shoved him off again.

"Don't get any hopes, brat. Don't you ever think this is going to happen every night, because it won't." Eiri said in a harsh voice.

"But Eiri what happened last night –

"Get used to the idea. Don't make any wrong ideas and think we are lovers or something like that." At the word 'lovers' Eiri couldn't keep a shiver going down his back.

'_Please don't tell me again this was a mistake. Don't say I was a mistake, because I don't think I could handle the pain again.'_ Shuichi thought.

As if Eiri could read his thoughts he said in a softer voice:

"I don't mean that what happened was a mistake. But as I already told you I am not into men. So until I figure out what _this_" pointing at each of them and at the air in between them "is, it won't happen again."

Shuichi's eyes showed relief, hope, confusion, love one at a time. This mesmerized Eiri and almost made him go to the boy and kiss him. But he knew better than that. He knew they should stop this, whatever this was, and pay attention on their lives, careers and feelings. _'Feelings? Since when am I thinking about such a concept? I know he loves me but I don't. Idiot. Stop thinking about feelings. No way will you ever fall in love again, not after Kitazawa occurred. There is no chance I open my heart to anybody just to let it be broken again.'_

The days were passing by slowly and uneventful. Eiri was still trying to figure out what was between him and the brat. He enjoyed talking to him. He saw the boy had some brain in his head, only that no one tried to explore his intelligence, not even Shuichi himself.

They were talking as much as possible during break time and Eiri always engaged Shuichi in contradictory discussions during the literature classes, to see how he reacts. And to all of their classmates and the teacher's surprise, Shuichi never backed out of these dialogs, always having arguments for his answers.

However, Eiri enjoyed the most their discussions under the sakura tree during lunch break. Shuichi could now handle English almost as well as he could and he was glad. Eiri was thinking that he had managed to transform the boy from an ignorant cute brat into an intelligent cute brat. _'Cute? Aaaahhhh, Eiri stop thinking like this. Although, when I look at his pouts and at his childish face, I have to force myself not to kiss him in front of everyone.'_

And one day he did it. He just couldn't resist the lovely pout Shuichi graced him with when Eiri asked him something he didn't know how to answer. It was a very difficult question since they were talking about the latest book Eiri had published. Upon seeing those incredible full pink lips, Eiri couldn't restrain his urge to kiss him and so he leaned down and captured the boy's unbelievable soft and smooth lips in a tender kiss. Shuichi's eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks turned a shade of bright red. Eiri liked to see the boy turn red every time he kissed or touched him. He just liked the look in his eyes in those moments.

Little they knew that someone was watching them and enjoying what was seeing. Taki already knew that Shuichi liked the blonde, cold hearted novelist, but what he never expected was the writer to respond to his feelings. _'This is interesting. Now it will be even easier to bring this scum down. If he doesn't want Eiri's career to take a bad turn he would do exactly what I want him to do.'_

When the boys were not together, Eiri was pondering his relationship with a certain pink haired boy. He enjoyed having him as a friend. It felt good to finally have someone to talk to and he was so relaxed when in Shuichi's presence. He couldn't believe this over joyful boy managed to get under his skin. But then his thoughts would stop upon the two nights they spent together. He knew the first night they shared was Shuichi's first time. He could tell that from the way he acted, not knowing what to do and when. That was why Eiri had been gentle with the boy.

He couldn't decide upon what was between them. All he knew was that he cared about that brat and he wouldn't let anyone hurt him.

Nothing happened between them since that kiss under the sakura tree until one night. Eiri was caught in his thoughts about Shuichi and he didn't notice it was getting darker with every passing minute. The night was slowly installing upon the world.

He was snapped out of his thought by a loud boom. He looked out the window and couldn't believe his eyes. The sky was dark and big black clouds were menacingly gathering, covering the already risen moon. Lightning bolts and thunders took control over the sky and the city, but the rain wasn't to come for a long period of time. The atmosphere was suffocating, as the storm was a great one.

Eiri was slowly calming. The storm always relaxed him to an extent that he could think clearer than ever and calmed his mind and body, putting him in the most creative state of mind. He started typing his next chapter, the storm giving him inspiration along with a peaceful feeling.

He kept typing until he heard a shy knock on the door. He told him to enter and heard the door being opened and closed as he never turned to see what the boy wanted. He was waiting for Shuichi to say something, but when he didn't, Eiri turned around to look at the boy. He was standing next to the door, shivering, although it wasn't cold in the room. At the next boom from a loud thunder, Shuichi curled up on the floor, in a corner of Eiri's room, shivering uncontrollable. His face showed how terrified he was. His eyes were widen in fear and were frantically looking around for a place away from the storm, away and safe. Eiri understood what was wrong with Shuichi. He was afraid of the storm.

He slowly stood, after saving his work and shutting the laptop, and approached the boy. He gently picked him up, took him to the bed and got him under the covers. After giving it a little thought, Eiri slipped next to him and wrapped his arms around his little form in a comforting manner. The boy immediately curled up at his chest and slowly calmed down drifting to sleep, oblivious by now to the raging storm that took control over the surroundings.

The next morning Eiri woke up to see that Shuichi was still curled up to his chest. He slowly nuzzled his hair, taking in his sweet scent. He was feeling content with the boy in his arms, as if he belonged in his tight embrace. He released one of his arms and brought it up to caress the boy's cheeks. He was so peaceful. As soon as his fingers touched the vocalist's cheek, a smile blossomed on his lips. Upon seeing this, Eiri shifted his position so he could lean and plant a butterfly kiss on his lips. Shuichi moaned at the slight touch of lips and opened his eyes.

"Mmmm … I wish I would always be awoken in this manner." Shuichi said in a sleepy voice.

The soft moan that escaped Shuichi's luscious lips made Eiri realize that the answer for his question was in front of his eyes the entire time. At the mere realization, Eiri tightened his grip around the boy's waist and locked their lips in a passionate kiss. They broke it for need of air and Shuichi, panting hard because of the sudden show of passion from the novelist, broke the silence with a shy:

"Nani?"

But Eiri was oblivious to his question and started planting butterfly kisses on his lips, cheeks, neck and finally collarbone, where he stopped, kissing and sucking, taking in the boy's beautiful scent of strawberry.

Shuichi was confused. He didn't understand what was happening. Of course he had often dreamt that the elder boy will treat him like this, but knowing him he couldn't make his mind if it was only lust from behalf of the novelist, or he did have feelings for him.

Eiri felt the little body next to him stiffen under his attention and finally turned his gaze to the boy's eyes, golden meeting violet. He saw the confusion in the vocalist's eyes and said:

"This is my answer to our question."

Upon hearing this, Shuichi wrapped his arms around Eiri's neck and captured his lips in a breathtaking kiss. Now he knew and he was happy.

**_A.N. Please excuse the long wait ... I will try not to let it happen again ;)_**

**_Thank you for the review supershu-chan :huggs you and gives you poky:_**

**_Please review if you can spare some minutes and tell me what you think about the story. Thanks._**


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